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ftrack Connect is a desktop application that provides an integration with your favorite DCC applications and allows your computer to communicate with ftrack projects, enabling enhanced functionality.

1. Go to the ftrack Connect download page here

2. Click the Download ftrack Connect button.

3. Scroll down and select your app's operating system to download.

4. Launch the installation file and follow the onscreen instructions.

5. Continue onto Launching the app below.

It is strongly advised to clear out your plugins directory before installing the new version of connect.

This can be done by locating the Connect icon either:

Once located, simply left or right-click the icon and select Open plugin directory.

Once the plugin directory opens up, select all the folders and delete them!

It is recommended to now quit Connect and install the new version following the New Connect installation procedure above.

Signing in automatically:

1. Enter the site name or https://sitename.ftrackapp.com account URL on the sign-in screen.

2. Upon clicking Sign in, your web browser will open and let you log in to your ftrack user account. If you’re already logged in to your ftrack user account, you will be authenticated and prompted to close the browser window.

3. You are now signed in to ftrack Connect and ready to use the app.

Signing in by using an API key:

Users can also sign into ftrack Connect without a web browser using their API key.

1. Click Sign in with username and API key at the bottom of the sign-in screen.

2. Enter the site name or https://sitename.ftrackapp.com account URL.

3. Enter your ftrack account user name.

4. Find your personal API key on the My account > Security settings > Personal API key. (More info here).

5. Copy and paste the key into the ftrack Connect app and click Sign in.

6. You’re now signed in to ftrack Connect and ready to use the app.

The Actions tab displays shortcuts of available Actions and supported desktop applications.

The Connect app provides two types of software integrations:

1. Those that can be launched from a task context only.

2. Those that can be launched from any context (project, task, folder, etc.).

A desktop application can be launched by simply clicking its icon. If multiple versions of an application exist on your computer, a menu with each version will appear.

An Action can be triggered by simply clicking its icon. Any Action displayed in this tab is the same as those available in the web interface of ftrack.

The Publish tab enables you to create new assets or version up an existing asset on a project without launching an application.

An asset version can hold several components. Each component usually represents a file on a disk. You can drag and drop files from your computer into the dashed line area to create a component for each file, or alternatively, browse to the file(s) by clicking the Browse button.

Each component’s name will be based on the filename of the file. You can manually edit the name if desired by clicking the name of the component and typing a new name.

A component can be removed by clicking the trash can icon next to each entry.

Each asset version needs to be linked to an entity on a project. We recommend linking asset versions to tasks, but you can also choose other entity types.

You can select an entity in two ways:

1. By clicking the Browse button next to the Linked to the field in the ftrack Connect app and selecting an entity from the project tree dialog.

2. By clicking the Publish files with Connect button in the top of the sidebar in the web interface.

If you choose the first way: you can navigate through the project by double-clicking items in the list.

The navigation bar at the top will show you where you are, and you can also click an item in the navigation bar to jump back up the hierarchy.

Alternatively, use the neighbouring Navigate up button to move up a level at a time.

You can choose to publish a new version of a previously published asset or publish the first version of a new asset.

To create a new asset, enable Create new > Select asset type, and give it a Name.

To publish a new version of an existing asset, select Version up existing and then the name of an existing asset in the list.

The majority of ftrack's integrations require a storage scenario for ftrack to handle the output paths.

Although this isn't the case for all integrations, it's nevertheless highly recommended to have a storage scenario set up for all the operating systems in use at a company before you start using any Connect and its integrations.

The storage scenario defines where files should be stored when using ftrack integrated applications like ftrack Connect and Adobe Illustrator, for example.

The storage scenario will be configured according to the different platforms used (Linus, Windows, OS X). Paths will be generated accordingly.

ftrack Connect is an incredibly powerful app that can be deeply integrated into your pipeline with custom plugins and processes.

Examples of added functionality include your own custom Actions, event processing scripts or listeners, Location plugins, and many other possibilities.

Custom functionality can be picked up by the ftrack Connect app by placing it in a special plugin directory that the app is watching.

Plugin directories vary by the operating system. You can find it easily on your computer by clicking the menu bar icon and selecting Open plugin directory.